Like it or not, habits pretty much define us: What we “habitually” do is who we are.
My Latin Professor in college used the
term “wont” to describe what we are “accustomed” to doing: “He was
wont to fish in the air, to hunt in the sea” (“in aere piscare, in mare
venari”). [Actually, as I remember it, a lot of Latin
literature seemed to dwell on inclinations as a primary influence on behavior
and “being”. However, a degree of premeditation,
purposefulness or intentionality was also implied.]
What are you “won’t” to do … what do you “habitually” do … what
do you “intentionally” do … who’s in charge … and to what degree? What is your “inclination”?
Are you a “Go To/Gangbuster”
person? Or are you a wishy-washy,
take-it-or-leave it, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may wannabe … ? Are you a “what’s happening now”
commodity? Are you pushing the edges of possibility or
letting life slide by?
Are “habits” serving you well or taking away from who you
are or could be?
Perhaps more to a larger point is the question: How authentic are you? Are you merely marching to the beat of
“natural inclinations” and innate, least-common-denominator tendencies or
making a serious run at being “all you can be”?
How much of your personal life translates seamlessly into how
you do what you do in your professional life?
Are you a stickler for detail … a perfectionist … or a “Git ‘er done” /
shoot-from-the-hip-and-ask-questions-later cowboy?
How consistent with “who you are” is what other people see
demonstrated on a daily basis?
And does it matter?
At the bottom, it may not matter. If you’re “down for the count”, resigned to
your fate without hope, aspiration or reasonable prospects, you’re pretty much
on your own with or without what others may think.
On the other hand, even if you’re on the bottom but you’re a
work-in-progress on your way UP, significant others can play pivotal roles in
supporting the effort. The “Bandwagon
Effect” – where legions of supporters come to the aid of someone making a
heroic effort – is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. What other
people see as a viable prospect also provides a measure of external validation,
can be a source of personal pride and dignity, and sets the scale for
negotiability in the world.
On the flip side, negative views from others can serve as
burning personal incentives:
“I may appear to be nothing more than a lump of coal,
but – look out world – I’m a diamond in the making!”
Countless benchmark achievements have been made by those who
were told at some point “You can’t DO
that!”
For some, “what other people think” is a lot less than they
really are or want to be. Perhaps
only then it doesn’t matter what other people think.
NOTE: It’s easy to fall
into a trap of mediocrity rationalization.
If we’re less than other people
think we SHOULD BE, tough beans for them!
I am what I am!
Other Voices
Gathering
"The greatest thing in this world is not so
much where we ARE,
but in which direction we are heading."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Which direction are you heading?
And how definitively/intentionally are you proceeding toward
your Destiny?
NOTE: President
Abraham Lincoln did not become “Presidential” after he was elected President: He was “Presidential material” from
the outset.
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * *
“My old man’s a sailor:
Whatta you think about that?
He wears a sailor’s collar,
And he wears a sailor’s hat.
He wears a sailor’s raincoat,
He wears a sailor’s shoes,
And every Saturday evening
He reads the Sunday news.
And some day, if I can …
I’m going to be a sailor,
Just the same as my old man.”
“My Old Man”
Oscar Brand, Hollis
Music, Inc.
“The Funny Side of
the Smothers Brothers (think ethnic)”
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * *
If you have done everything possible within your power to do
whatever it is you CAN do and to be whoever it is you CAN be, then to hell with
whatever anybody else thinks. Let’s get
more intentional about DOING and BEING whatever it is we do and whoever it is
we are and the rest will follow. Quartermaster
No comments:
Post a Comment